Life After Death
by MiSsYaNgEl
Summary: A continuation of Hero. Please R
1. Chapter 1

****

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters all belong to the man (otherwise known as JJ).

Author: Missy

Thanks to: Kristen…you're the best girl!!! And thanks to all my peeps at SD-6…ya'll know you are. JBE!!!! 

Chapter 1

"Vaughn, what is it?"

Vaughn remained silent for a moment as if thinking what to say, "Sydney, y-your father has been taken into custody."

"By SD-6?"

"No….by the CIA."

Sydney was shocked. What could her father possibly have done to be taken into custody? Was it about that missing agent that she heard about? Could he have been the one responsible for his disappearance? 

"I don't understand? What did he do?"

"It involves your mother. You see, we gave your father another psyche evaluation and he accidentally let it slip that he killed your mother. I don't know how, but you'll have to talk to Bartnett about that."

"No, no this all wrong. My father couldn't possibly have killed her. I mean, in his report he said that one of Nerhu's men shot her."

Vaughn took Sydney's hand into his and squeezed it tightly. He knew that there was nothing he could do to comfort her, but at least she knew he was there for her. At least he hoped she did. Sydney slowly released herself from Vaughn's grip, although he wasn't ready to let her go. Before Vaughn knew what he was doing, he pulled Sydney toward him and hugged her unexpectedly. 

After a few moments he let go and apologized for his abrupt manner.

"You don't have to apologize, Vaughn. I needed that."

"I think its safe for you to call me Michael," he said, smiling at her.

Sydney couldn't believe how attracted she was to this man. But despite her feelings, she showed no hint of it. Michael had made it perfectly clear to her that they were just friends, and that's all they'd ever be.

"Thanks….Michael."

"Anytime."

Jack sat there impatiently waiting for his interrogators to return. He couldn't believe he had let it slip that he had killed Irina. How could he have been so stupid, was all that he could ask himself. Bartnett was good and he had to admit that. Although it was still a mystery as to how she had gotten him to talk regarding Irina.

Devlin walked through the door, interrupting Jack's thoughts. Sydney was behind Devlin, staring straight at Jack. Jack knew what she was thinking. That he was a killer, a lowlife, and that she expected this kind of ruthless action from him. Jack was then snapped out of his daze by the sight of Devlin, who was staring him straight in the eye. 

"Jack, did you hear anything that I have just said?"

Jack remained silent and turned to Sydney, who was sitting beside him.

"You do know that you've just cost the CIA a valuable asset? Langley is furious, Jack, absolutely furious! I know you may have had some problems, but I never thought that you'd do this! And to think that I used to respect you? You really did stoop low this time."

This comment made Sydney furious, and she was also furious with the fact that Jack had taken Devlin's insult. This was not her father. The real Jack would have defended himself and would have never accepted an insult. If Jack wasn't going to stand up for himself, then she was going to do it for him.

"Alright, enough! I'm not just gonna sit here and let you insult my father. I mean, for all you know, he could've been telling the truth. Are you sure Bartnett heard right? I mean, I heard about her from Vaughn and…"

"Ms. Bristow! Let me remind you who you are talking to. And no, Dr. Bartnett isn't wrong. She's preformed several tests on your father and it proves that he is in fact your mother's killer. I know it's hard to accept, but the fact is he killed her. End of story. Why else isn't your father speaking up for himself then?"

Before Sydney could've even responded, Jack spoke up, "Enough!" From the look that they were giving Jack, they had certainly heard him.

Jack's throat was dry, and he was in no mood to raise his voice or argue.

"Ben, if it's alright with you, I'd like to speak to Sydney for a moment."

Devlin sighed. "Make it quick."

"Thanks."

As Devlin walked out the door, Sydney quickly took a seat by her father. "Dad, what's going on?"

"Sydney, all you need to know is that I'm sorry."

"Sorry….sorry for what?"

Jack sighed helplessly. He was tired, both physically and emotionally. 

"For everything."

"Dad…"

Jack gave Sydney a smile before speaking to her again, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"What? Dad…" But before Sydney could even finish her sentence, two men had walked in and were escorting her father out of the room. 

Sydney was utterly confused. Why was her father acting like this? And what the hell did Bartnett do to make him talk? She knew she couldn't ask her father, since he had probably been hypnotized by her, and the CIA was definitely out of the question. If Sydney wanted the truth, she would have to ask Bartnett herself.

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_FLASHBACK _

"Why do you continue to play with me as if I'm a toy! I admit I was foolish enough to marry you….to even love you. And I'll even admit to you that I somehow wished you loved me back. But not anymore. You've used me for the last time."

"I assume you saw my video footage then? Jack, I lied when I said I used you. I ….I don't know what I felt."

"Did you ever love me?"

"Yes I did."

"For once in your life just stop lying! I'm going to ask you again…did you ever love me?"

"No…I never loved you."

"Well I always loved you." 

And then the trigger was pulled

__

END FLASHBACK

Jack awoke drenched in sweet. His vision was blurry and a feeling of nausea started to kick in.

"Jack, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine. Are we done yet?" His tone was harsh and straight to business. Normally, Jack would humor the "good" doctor, but not today. Frankly, the more time he spent with her, the more of an annoyance she became.

"Almost. Jack I want you to answer these questions truthfully, alright?"

"If it'll get me out of here faster, then ask away."

She smiled at him, but it wasn't returned, "Why did you kill your wife?"

"Dr. Bartentt…"

"Please, call me Nancy."

"I'd prefer to address you as doctor if you don't mind."

She smiled yet again, and began to write things down on a pad of paper. "Whatever you prefer to call me is fine."

"Actually, I'd prefer to call you a lot of things right now," this remark caused Bartnett's eyebrow to raise. "I'm sorry….I don't know where that came from."

Bartnett continued to write, while speaking to Jack, "It's quite alright, Jack. These symptoms are quite typical."

"Symptoms?"

She then put down her pen and stopped to look at Jack, "I assume you want the truth then?"

Jack responded in a horse tone, "Yes, please."

"Well, to be frank, I've had you under hypnosis for the past few days."

"You what!"

"Jack…"

"Why wasn't I told of this beforehand?"

"Because I was ordered by Langley not to. You have to understand, Jack, when Irina was found dead, everyone on that mission had to be evaluated."

"I'm aware of CIA procedure, and that is not procedure!" Jack's voice was becoming more hoarse by the second. But this had no effect on Bartnett, for she dealt with this kind of behavior all the time. Jack was considered a new breed to her. Never had she met a patient who was so in control of his emotions. Until Jack, that is. He amazed her, interested her, and even shocked her at times. What was it about him that she just couldn't figure out?

Before she knew it, the sound of the door slamming behind her had snapped her back into reality. Moments later, a young woman entered Bartnett's office. She was blonde with a petite frame, and she had the most amazing blue eyes you could have ever seen. She'd only been working with the CIA for three weeks, but she was quickly adjusting. Especially since she'd made the A list on the men's bathroom wall. Bartnett knew all the CIA officer's profiles by heart and she knew exactly who started the A list- Eric Weiss. She couldn't help but smile.

"So, that was the famous Jack Bristow, huh?"

"Yeah. I assume he's leaving the building by now."

"Boy, you're good. Any guesses as to where he's heading?"

"Most likely to a low profile place. My guess, maybe a bar."

"Alright, I'll call this in then."

"No, don't….he needs some time to cool off. Hopefully, he'll be back of his own free will."

"You're the boss." As she was about to head out the door, Bartnett called out to her, "Oh and Alice…."

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Vaughn yet?"


	2. Chapter 2

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"Syd, why are you throwing your mom's things away?"

"I just thought that I should move on, and by throwing this stuff away I can finally do that."

Francie looked at Sydney questionably. "Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, from what you kept saying, your mom was a saint."

"Yeah, but I think its time for me to finally let go."

Francie gave Sydney a kiss on the forehead and a big hug, "I guess you're right. Sometimes we have to get rid of the old to make room for the new, huh?"

Sydney smiled, "Yeah, exactly."

"Well, I gotta go. I have to meet up with the electrician, and I don't think he'll wait long, especially given the restaurant's current condition. He won't wanna waste his time looking at a place that resembles Freddie Krueger's childhood home."

Sydney laughed before permitting Francie to leave. "Ok, I'll see you later Fran."

"See you, sweetie. Oh, and before I forget, I had our number changed."

Sydney gave her a short look of surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, the new number's over on the kitchen counter next to the Joey's Pizza coupon."

"Joey's Pizza coupon?"

"Yeah, can you believe it? First they harass us by giving out our number to their wacko customers, now they have the nerve to send us a coupon. At least send us one of those pizzas that these people are dying to have."

"I don't think people actually die to have pizza, Fran."

"Well, their customers do. I mean honestly, who calls for pizza around one? Hello, it's time to sleep people!"

"I'm guessing they might have been college frat boys."

"Hmmm, you know, I should have thought about that. What if one of them were cute?"

"You're gonna be late."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney made her way to the warehouse to find Vaughn there. He sat patiently waiting for her to make her way over.

"The coupon idea, was it yours?"

"Yeah, I know it's corny."

"No, actually Francie and I got a kick out of it."

Vaughn let out a short laugh. "Really, why is that?"

"Well, she still doesn't know that you were really Joey's Pizza, so she had our number changed."

"Oh, ok."

"So, what did you want to see me about?"

"Basically to let you know that you'll be getting mail instead of phone calls. Usually they'll all be news letters or coupon clippings."

"Well, how will I know that it's you….I mean, I get those everyday."

"Well, from now on you'll have your own personal CIA mailman. See, we replace all your junk mail with….well basically, our junk."

Sydney laughed, "Alright, I got you."

"Good, so I guess we're done."

Sydney remained silent for a moment, thinking of a best way to ask Vaughn about her father. "Vaughn, any word about my dad?"

Vaughn's forehead creased, and he gave her that sympathetic look he always gives her when he can't help her. 

"I'm sorry, Sydney, I don't know anything. All I know is Langley's keeping a close eye on your father."

Sydney was absolutely flustered. Her father was wrong; she had to admit that. But he didn't deserve this. In fact, she actually agreed with her father's actions, at least on some level. Her mother was a killer, and she had deserved to be killed.

"Sydney, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright! My father has proven himself plenty of times to the CIA. I mean, for God's sake, they threw him in solitary for months. For something he didn't do! So I think it's pretty much even for the time they took away from us."

Vaughn put a hand on Sydney's shoulder, "Sydney, calm down."

"No, I won't calm down! I mean, that woman killed twelve CIA agents, and to think that the CIA would want some justice!"

"Sydney, taking someone's life isn't justice."

"Well, it is to me." Sydney quickly turned on her heel and stormed off, leaving Vaughn alone. She couldn't believe how angry she was to even think murdering her "mother" was justice. It wasn't justice and she knew that. It was revenge.

Sydney drove for ten minutes until she parked her car in front of a Starbucks. She then continued to walk until she found herself in front of the CIA building. She had absolutely no intention of going there, but somehow she felt as if she had no control over her body's actions. Every fiber of her being was telling her to hit something, anything, and all she could think about was getting her hands around Bartnett's throat. Before Sydney realized it she was sitting in Bartnett's office. She couldn't believe how easy she had passed those secretaries; it was as if they hadn't even noticed her. 

Twelve minutes had passed, and Sydney began to feel restless. That is, until Bartnett walked in.

"Ah, Ms. Bristow. Pleasure seeing you here."

"Are you aware that your secretaries practically let me in here? You know its better to hire someone in their mid fifties. Those toddlers that you hired out there aren't quite as alert as a grandmother," Sydney said sarcastically. 

Bartnett couldn't help but smirk at Sydney's comment, "Well, I see you have your father's sense of humor."

"My father doesn't have a sense of humor. I'm surprised you don't already know that, with all the tests you've been doing on him."

"Well, to answer your first question, my secretaries allowed you to enter my office because I told them I was expecting you. See I knew you or your father would eventually find your way over here."

"What exactly did you do to my father?" Sydney was frank and straight to the point. She had no intention of staying in a room with Bartnett. For if she did, she would regret it later. 

"That, Ms. Bristow, is classified."

"You know, I thought shrinks were supposed to keep things confidential."

"We are. That's why I'm not telling you anything."

"Well, what the hell can you tell me?"

"I can tell you that this thing about your father upsets you," she said, smiling.

"Thanks for the analysis, Dr. Freud. How long did it take you to figure that out?"

Bartnett sighed, "Sydney, I'll tell you what, if you can get your father back here, I'll tell you what you need to know."

"Forget it!"

"Very well then. You'll still have to bring him in, and that's and order."

"You can't give me orders."

"No, but Devlin can." Bartnett then took out an envelope and handed it to Sydney. "Devlin's requested that you bring your father back here."

Sydney snatched the envelope out of Bartnett's hand and headed toward the door, when Bartnett called out to her, "Oh, Sydney…" Sydney turned to face her, "I'd also like to see you in here as well….and that's an order."

Sydney didn't answer; she merely nodded and headed straight out the door. A few moments later, Alice walked in with a stack of papers in her hands, "Another Bristow?"

"Yes, what are those?"

"A list of your new patients. Looks like you'll be busy till next Christmas."

Bartnett laughed, "Yeah, I guess I am."

"I couldn't help but overhear that Jack Bristow was coming back in here."

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that some of the girls around the office….well, they say he's a fox."

Bartnett couldn't help but laugh hysterically. "What? Am I hearing this right? Jack Bristow? I mean I can understand him being compared to an animal, but a fox…honestly now."

"Laugh it up, boss lady, but it's true. And if you don't mind me saying, I think someone has developed a crush for their foxy patient."

"Listen, I may have said that you can be open with me….but that's crossing the line."

Alice smirked, "Yeah, I guess you're right. After all, you're the shrink, not me."

Bartnett couldn't help but wonder though, "Does it really seem that way?"

"I don't know…. if I answer I'm afraid I might be crossing the line" Alice said sarcastically.

"Alice," Bartnett said calmly.

"Fine….it does. But I'm only twenty-eight, so what do I know? And don't worry, a lot of girls thinks he's a fox so you're not the only one."

Before Bartnett could even respond, Alice was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

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Sloane sat impatiently in the back of a Rolls Royce limousine. He was just about to instruct his driver to leave, when another vehicle pulled up beside his. Sloane rolled his window down to reveal a thin, pale man on the other side. 

"Alan, I started to suspect that you weren't going to show."

"I'm sorry. I had to handle some personal matters."

"Personal? Do you mind me asking what that may be?"

"Lets just say that I don't have to worry about my wife's wandering eye anymore."

This comment sent a look of surprise over Sloane's face, a look that he quickly shook off. 

"So, how's your son?" he asked, looking uninterested.

For a moment Alan remained silent, as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. After that long pause, he finally spoke up in a low but clear voice. "He died…apparently the cancer could not be treated."

Sloane did his best to place a sympathetic look on his face, but really he did not care what happened to Alan's family. In fact, he took pleasure in Alan's misery. He was, after all, the one who had given Sloane that awful ultimatum. The ultimatum that took Emily's life. 

"I'm sorry to hear that, Alan. If there's anything I can do…"

"No, there's nothing," he interrupted. "Anyway, on to business." Alan handed Sloane a metallic briefcase filled with files. "This is the latest project that I have requested the Alliance to work on."

Sloane had a look of confusion on his face. "And what is the purpose of us purchasing pharmaceutical companies?" he asked as he read the files. 

"That, my friend, is our cover. Our main goal is to develop a new type of performance enhancer. To create a better, faster, and smarter solider." For a moment, Alan stopped, as if to admire his brilliant idea. "Can you imagine how profitable this would be?"

"I can only imagine," he said sarcastically. "But nothing is perfect, Alan. Surely this brilliant invention of yours must have a side-effect," Sloane paused a moment to study Alan's face. "And from that look on your face, I believe you have just proved my theory correct."

Alan clenched his jaw, and was quite annoyed with Sloane's persistence. He had only been a member of the Alliance for two months and he was already trying to one up him. 

"Maybe there is one side-effect…but it's only a minor problem. Nothing life threatening, I can assure you. Anymore questions…or are we done with this little interrogation?"

Sloane raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry, Alan. I didn't mean to question your ethics. Call me paranoid, but you can never be too careful when it comes down to these things. We wouldn't want any accidents."

"No, of course not," he said, giving Sloane an expressionless look. "Well, I guess our meeting is over then."

As Alan was about to instruct his driver to leave, Sloane spoke one more time, "Oh, and I see your daughter will be joining us."

"Yes, she will leave for LA tomorrow morning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack was alone inside the gym. He was doing every exercise you could imagine in order to forget about the past few days. To him, this was all a bad dream, and he would soon wake up. But that was farthest from the truth. Jack took a quick break and then headed off to a bench. He did a few bench-presses, until he caught sight of Bartnett's shadow. Jack ignored Bartnett and placed the weights back.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Oh, you're actually speaking to me as a person now?"

"You can give me all the grief you want, Jack. I won't apologize for doing my job."

Jack paused for a moment before answering her. "I'll give you that, and I apologize for causing you any grief. I'm just not the kind of person that talks about….feelings," he said, as if he were mocking her.

"We were surprised to find you here. When the guard told us you were here I thought…"

"Well, to make it clear, I wasn't hiding."

"Yes, I get that now."

Bartnett watched Jack walk to his duffel bag, and then followed him. 

"Do you mind if I…" Jack said pointing to his shirt.

"No, not at all."

Bartnett watched Jack tug off his shirt and how neatly his hair stayed in place after it went over his head. Jack was surprised to see Bartnett watch him take his shirt off; he had thought that she had turned around, but apparently he had been wrong. In fact, he felt a bit awkward.

"I know what you are thinking, and trust me my job is just to observe."

Jack let out a short laugh before putting on a clean shirt, "That was an unexpected comeback."

"Excuse you, Mr. Bristow, but I can be just as witty as you can. And trust me I have plenty more."

"Alright then. So I assume we'll be having another session, huh?"

She smiled and pushed her hair back, "You assumed right."

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to go home and change first."

"Why not change here?"

"Not possible. I hate using public showers and I really wouldn't want you to observe that."

__

Was it me or was Jack Bristow making a joke?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*FLASHBACK*

He was being dragged by four men. Paralyzed, he did nothing but wait, wait for whatever was to come next. He didn't know why this was happening, or why it was happening to him. To him, this wasn't real, this was just another nightmare that he had to face. But reality soon set in, as he was thrown on a chair and was strapped in securely. As his captors left, he studied his surroundings. In the far-left corner of the room was a table filled with surgical equipment; needles, and syringes, and in the right was a transparent window revealing another room. He sat there wondering what was to become of him. The doors then opened, revealing two men and a woman accompanying them. They slowly walked to where their equipment was placed and took their time assembling it.

"W-What are you doing to me? When my father finds out what you've done to me, you'll all…"

He was soon interrupted by one of the men there, " I don't think that'll be a problem. After this you'll be one mouth less to feed. Your father will thank us." The doctor then left to join his colleagues, and soon returned to him, fully prepared.

He struggled but there was little that he could do; he was still too numb and weak to fight them off. "No, please don't." But it was too late. One by one, needles punctured into his skin and clear liquid was emptied from each syringe.

After five, maybe even ten minutes the pain started to kick in. It was so unbearable that he even loss consciousness from time to time. He soon felt nauseated, and heaved all over himself. Finally he blacked out and the pain stopped.

*END FLASHBACK*

He was soon awakened by the sound of the phone. He immediately turned to his side and answered it, "What is it?"

"Sir, the men are in position. We're awaiting confirmation."

He answered in a clear and firm tone, "kill them."

"Yes, sir."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Eric, check out the babe." Eric Weiss immediately set the donut that he was holding down, to take a quick glance at a beautiful blonde woman. A quick glance was all it took for him to be attracted to her. As he walked over to her, he prepped himself on what to say. Although all that came to mind were tacky pickup lines. He finally tapped her shoulder and caught a full glance of her face. "Alice?"

She turned around, taken by surprise as how Weiss came to know her, "Hi…have we met?"

"No, I'm Eric Weiss….Michael's friend," he said, raising both eyebrows.

"Oh yes, I remember hearing about you. It's very nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand.

Weiss graciously accepted it, "Likewise."

"So, how's Michael? I was meaning to tell him I work here now, but I hardly ever get to leave this floor. And the only time I do, he's not there."

"Oh, well…I'll let him know for you," he said eagerly.

Alice smiled, "Thanks, that's sweet of you."

"Oh, its' nothing…and trust me he'll just _freak_ when he sees you."

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Sloane was sitting at his desk, when one of his employees walked through the door, "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but a Miss. Angela Christophe is here to see you."

"Please, send her in," he said, gesturing at him to retrieve her. 

He quickly came back with Angela in tow, and as he left, the two engaged in conversation.

"Angela, you're early," Sloane said, trying to look surprised.

"Yes, a bit unexpected I know, but if I'm going to evaluate this office…"

"Evaluate?" Sloane said, looking dumbfounded. "I know your father didn't describe what your purpose for working with us would be, but I didn't expect this."

Angela showed absolutely no expression. In fact, her poker face was remarkable.

"Yes, well, now you do. And first things first, I would like to see all your senior officers."

Sloane raised an eyebrow, "Of course I'll give you a list of all their names," he said, trying to sound gracious.

"Won't be necessary. I already have them, and the first name on my list is a certain Jack Bristow."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the purpose of this evaluation, really?" he asked, giving her a questioning look. Sloane knew better. There was certainly more to this story, and he was determined to find out what it is. 

She returned the look with a cold stare, "That, you'll have to bring up with the Alliance, and…"

"I am part of the Alliance," he said, cutting her off.

"If you would kindly let me finish, you would know that I have been requested by the Alliance to give you this evaluation. And if you have anymore questions, I can not and will not answer them for you, as I am under strict orders to keep this confidential…that is, until you speak with the board."

Sloane clenched his jaw, "Well then, proceed with your evaluation."

As Angela turned away and was about to leave, Sloane called out to her, "Oh, and Angela?"

"Yes?"

"Have fun with Jack," he said sarcastically.


	4. Chapter 4

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Vaughn walked in to find Alice graciously sitting at her desk, filling out paperwork. 

"Hey." 

Alice looked up and found Vaughn smiling down at her. "Michael!" She got up from her desk and threw her arms around him. "It's nice to see you again."

"You too….so, you're working here now?"

"Yeah, just started a few weeks ago."

"Oh, so how are you holding up? I hear Bartnett can be a little…"

She watched his reaction and could tell he had a strong dislike towards Barttnet. "Actually, she's great. And I'm learning so much around here, too. It's really overwhelming."

Vaughn smiled. He couldn't believe how beautiful she still was. It was too bad that looks were the only thing that kept their relationship going. Now, if she only had Sydney's personality, he would have stayed with her forever. 

Vaughn's thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Alice's voice, "Michael, am I boring you already?" She asked smiling.

"No, no, I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Work, that's all."

"Oh, ok."

For a moment it was quite. It was pretty clear to the two of them that they had run out of things to talk about.

"So, are you seeing someone" Vaughn asked absently.

Alice was completely surprised, and so was Vaughn. He had never meant to ask the question, but somehow it had slipped. 

"I'm sorry Alice, that's none of my business. I…"

"It's alright," she interrupted. "And to answer your question, yes I am," she said, looking smug.

Vaughn wasn't surprised at her answer. She was beautiful and she could get any man she wanted. He couldn't help but laugh at how fast he had asked her to become his girlfriend.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how we first met, that's all."

"Oh."

Vaughn sat on top of Alice's desk, "So, tell me a little bit about this guy? What's he do for a living? Well, that is if you don't mind me asking, of course."

"No, not at all. Let's see,"she said, trying to think. "He's an investment banker and he was born in England. And apparently he has no family. I mean, the only family he had died a year ago. That's pretty much it."

"Well, I hope this guy's treating you right. He's very lucky to have you," Vaughn said, smiling.

Alice returned the smile back whole heartedly, "Thanks, and Sydney's very lucky to have you as a _handler_."

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Jack slowly walked up to Sydney's door, and had knocked three times before Francie answered it.

"Oh hey, Mr. B…" Francie stopped her sentence when she noticed Jack about to correct her. "I mean, Jack," she said, smiling at him.

"Hello Francie. Is Sydney around?"

"Yeah, she is. Hold on, I'll call her for you." Francie turned away from Jack and began to yell, "Sydney, your dad's here!"

"Ok, I'll be out in a sec!"

Francie turned to Jack, "She'll be out in a sec."

Jack let out a short laugh, "So I've heard. So….I hear you're opening your restaurant soon?"

At the mention of her restaurant, Francie's whole face lit up, "Yeah, I am, but I wouldn't say I'm opening it up _soon_," she said, looking doubtful. "It still needs a lot of work."

"Well, I'm sure it'll be extraordinary once it's open," he said, pasting on a smile. Jack still wasn't used to interacting with people outside of work, so having a conversation with Francie was definitely a challenge.

Francie gave Jack a hug, which completely took him by surprise. He remained still until she had removed her arms from around him, "Why, thanks, Jack."

"You're welcome."

They soon were interrupted by the sound of Sydney's voice, "I'll be out in a sec you guys!"

Francie laughed, "When she says that, she usually means it's gonna be awhile."

"Oh…well, you don't have to stay and entertain me. I'm sure you have better things to do. I'll just wait here for Sydney." 

"No, it's fine. I have nothing to do anyway," she said, shrugging. "Well, since we're both waiting for Sydney, maybe you can give me your opinion on something?"

"Alright, what is it?"

"Well, say you bring your lady friend over to my restaurant, and I'm assuming you have one," she said, giving Jack a playful punch on the arm. 

Jack cleared his throat, "Actually, I don't."

Francie was a bit embarrassed by her comment and quickly changed the subject, "Well…I was speaking hypothetically. I mean, if you did have one…umm…"

"It's quite alright, I understand. So, please continue."

This time Francie choose her words more carefully, "Ok, say you were at my restaurant. Would you mind if there was a smoking section? Well, I only ask since I'm not really into people blowing a black cloud into my lungs, and I just want to get someone else's opinion."

"Well, it would be convenient for most people to have a smoking section, since most wealthy people do tend to smoke."

By now Jack noticed Francie writing down what he had just said and repeating it to herself, "Rich people smoke, period… Ok, got ya. And another thing, how do you think the perfect men's room should be?"

"Well, it has to have plumbing."

Francie couldn't help but laugh. 

"Well, to be honest, Francie, I don't think I should be the one you should ask. To me a bathroom's a bathroom and you're just there to empty yourself. But it would be nice to have one of those couches the women have. It looks…it looks very comfortable," he said, laughing.

Franice couldn't help but think what a nice smile Jack had. If only he'd smile more.

"Alright, I'm done, you guys. What'd I miss?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*FLASHBACK *

"I swear to you, I heard him breathing," he said, looking concerned.

The man across from him, on the other hand, was not at all worried, "So what? By the time we bury him, he won't be for long. Would you please help me so we can get out of here?"

"Fine."

As they were about to walk to the body, they discovered that it was gone. "Oh my God!" He quickly turned to find his companion on the ground. As he walked to the side of his friend, he radioed for help.

"This is Matt. Do you copy?" he said, panicked.

"Yeah, Matt, what is it?"

"The body…I-It's gone," he said in whispered tones.

"Very funny."

"It's no joke it's…" By then he was approached from behind and had his neck snapped. 

After a few seconds, the radio went on again. This time it wasn't Matt. "Tell your employer that he'll get his soon," a voice said huskily.

"Hello, who is this? Hello?" but there was no answer.

*END FLASHBACK*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you survived a conversation with Francie?" Sydney said jokingly.

Jack, however, switched his expression and was back to serious, "Sydney, there's a problem."

"What is it? Is it about…"

Jack cut her off, "No, it's not about me. It's about the Alliance."

Sydney began to look alarmed. She didn't know what was going on, but from her father's voice, it couldn't be good. "What about the Alliance?"

"Well, apparently Sloane has informed me that four Alliance members have been executed yesterday. He's been ordered by the board to have an emergency meeting regarding the matter."

"Could they possibly have been executed by a new cell?"

"Well, that is quite probable. Whoever's doing this, though, is good and is ahead of their game. Anyway, the CIA has gotten some leads and has flown Vaughn to Portugal. Apparently the "cell," as we call it for now, is having a meeting. They've sent him to gather surveillance."

Sydney bit her lip, and Jack noticed. "Sydney, you shouldn't be worried. I'm sure Vaughn will be alright."

Sydney nodded and felt a bit embarrassed. Was it so obvious that she had feelings for him that her own father even noticed?

"Well, who's heading up SD-6 while Sloane's gone?"

"The daughter of Alan Christophe. And I'd be extremely discrete around her."

"I understand."

"Yes, well, I have to be on my way now. I'm to meet with her in an hour."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The streets were packed and crowded as usual, and Vaughn and Weiss were beginning to suspect that they had gotten a false lead.

"So, when's this guy gonna show?"

"Give it an hour tops, and if he doesn't show, we'll head back."

Weiss laid a hand on his stomach. "Good, cause I'm hungry."

Vaughn turned away and removed a small bag of Doritos from the glove department and handed them to Weiss, "You always are."

"It's not my fault. We've been here for over an hour! I'm surprised your skinny butt isn't hungry."

Vaughn laughed, "Yeah, well, I rather be skinny than…well," Vaughn said, smacking Weiss in the stomach. 

"Dude, that was wrong! You are seriously living the Hollywood cliché, Michael. And anyway, I'd rather be fat than starve."

"All right, all right, you win."

"Yeah, I thought so. And another thing…"

This time Vaughn cut him off, "Get the camera I think it's them."

"You sure?"

"Positive, now go."

"All right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack slowly walked to Sloane's office. He was in no hurry to see Angela, and it definitely showed. By the time Jack arrived to the door, Angela came out to greet him. "Agent Bristow," she said, motioning him inside. Jack walked in and stepped to the side, holding the door open for Angela to enter. As she entered, she walked past him and thanked him, while returning to her seat.

"You wanted to see me?"

Angela looked up from where she sat and glanced at Jack before setting her eyes back on his file. "You'll do," she said, flipping pages.

Jack gave her a puzzled look before speaking, "I'm sorry, I'm not quite clear on what you meant?"

"Well, Agent Bristow, I'm sure you're already aware of what has happened to the Alliance by now, am I correct?"

Jack nodded in acknowledgement, "Yes, it was quite unfortunate."

"Yes indeed. Well, as you know, my father has sent me here to evaluate how you all run things down here. And well, due to the fact that someone's been killing members of the Alliance, his priorities have changed. Now, I'm here to find the most qualified agents and send them to find this lunatic." Angela then put a smile on her face, "Well, find…kill. It really doesn't matter."

"I understand."

Angela returned to the stack of papers in front of her and soon stopped when she came across Sydney's name. "Well, this one's quite impressive. Tell me Agent Bristow, does your entire family consist of spies?"

"No….just my daughter and I."

"I see, well then, take her along as well. I'll contact you later today once I've gathered a team."

Angela stared at Jack questioningly, noticing that he was still in the room. Normally, everyone she had ever had the pleasure of meeting would have left the first chance they'd gotten after meeting her. She knew why too- they were intimidated, and that pleased her, made her feel in control. But not Jack. No, he was definitely different from anyone she'd ever met. Finally, after a long awkward pause, she spoke again, "That will be all."

"With all due respect, I don't think It'd be wise if my daughter came along."

"Really, and why is that?"

"Because I don't see her fit for this mission. One thing I can tell you about my daughter is that she is no killer. Her emotions will cloud her judgement and that may very much compromise not only her life, but our mission as well." Jack hated talking as if he didn't care about Sydney. As if she were just another agent that he was put in charge of. But he needed to keep her safe, and he'd say and do whatever it took to do just that. 

"You make a good point, Agent Bristow. I'll tell you what, if I can't find a suitable replacement for your daughter, I'll take her place."

"Very well, if you'd like."

"Well, I can't say I don't enjoy a good mission. So I'll see you soon," she said, returning to her work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*FLASHBACK*

"I don't care! You find him, is that clear?"

From the sound echoing from the room, he could definitely tell that his father had been looking for him. Until he heard more of the conversation, that is. "If anyone finds out that Steven hasn't died, it'll be the end of me!"

What was this? His own father was the one who had sent those people? How could he do that, and most importantly why?

"I understand your concern, sir, but rethink your decision. Surely you don't want your own son killed?"

"Listen here, you fool! It's either him or me….and I choose me. One must sacrifice all to gain all. What has to happen to Steven is a tragedy, but it'll also be a victory for some." 

So it was true. His own father had been the one to betray him. He was still puzzled as to why and how his own father could betray him. He had no answers, but that didn't matter. He swore revenge. The betrayer will be betrayed. He would make sure of it.

*END FLASHBACK*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"His name is Thomas Jennings," Alan said, pointing to an enlarged picture of a man shown on screen. "Apparently he's determined to put us all out of business."

At Alan's comment the whole room went into an uproar, that is all except for Sloane. 

"Who is this man?!"

"I don't know, William, and frankly, I don't care. He is a threat and he must be eliminated."

Sloane, on the other hand, had a better idea, "Hold on, Alan. Don't you think we should just keep a close eye on him? I mean, who knows if he even is this notorious leader that you say he is. What if he isn't even in charge, what then?"

The room was silent. "Then we'd really all be dead. So, I say we watch for now. Let him come to us. After all, not many teams win their away games."

"Yes, Arvin, but this isn't sports! Thomas is definitely the head of this organization, and if we all value our lives, we should vote to have him eliminated."

After that, the eight men left began to vote. To Alan's surprise he was outvoted. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sydney sat at the coffee house, watching a young mother come in with her little girl. For a moment, she fantasized about having that kind of life, a normal life, with a child and husband. She was quickly brought back to reality when she saw Jack come into sight. She waved to her father and he quickly came and joined her.

"I got your message, what's up?"

Jack turned his head, searching the room for any possible plants. After a few moments searching, he was finally satisfied. "Sydney, I've been assigned a mission regarding the Alliance. Apparently, Christophe's daughter wants me to lead a team and take Thomas Jennings out."

"Thomas Jennings?"

"Yes, Sloane has informed me of his identity about an hour ago. Apparently, her decision will be overruled, since the Alliance outvoted Alan."

Sydney took a sip of her coffee before answering her father, "So he'll just be put on surveillance then?"

"Yes, most likely. Oh, and Bartnett has informed me that you went to see her on my behalf."

Jack's comment made Sydney's cheeks become a bright red, "Dad, I'm sorry, I…."

"It doesn't matter, Sydney. It was kind of you. Not necessary, but kind," he said, smiling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alice, clear all of my appointments for today."

Alice looked confused, "Why?"

"Let's just say I'll be expecting another Bristow today."

"Oh, ok," she said, laughing. "So they really are a piece of work, huh?"

"You could definitely say that." As Bartnett was about to return to her office, she took notice of a picture on Alice's desk. It was a picture of a tall and handsome man. She couldn't help but ask the question. "Who's that?"

Alice looked to where Bartnett was pointing and smiled, "Oh, that's my boyfriend Thomas."

"Well, I must applaud you on a job well done. Must've took a lot to catch that one."

By now Alice's face was flushed, "Actually, he came to me."

Please R&R. Thanks. ;)


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